Social Darwinism

Essay by baileywilliamsHigh School, 11th gradeA+, May 2004

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Social Darwinism was the application of Charles Darwin's scientific theories of evolution and natural selection to contemporary social development. In nature, only the fittest survived so this must also be true in the marketplace. This form of justification was enthusiastically adopted by many American businessmen as scientific proof of their superiority and was used to justify imperialism abroad and cruel social policies at home. Social Darwinism was not a scientific theory, but a political ideology that used Darwinism (a scientific theory ) as its justification. Some social Darwinists argued that governments should not interfere with human competition by attempting to regulate the economy or cure social ills such as poverty. Instead, they advocate a laissez-faire political and economic system that favors competition and self-interest in social and business affairs. Social Darwinists typically deny that they advocate a "law of the jungle." But most propose arguments that justify imbalances of power between individuals, races, and nations because they consider some people more fit to survive than others.

In Social Darwinism, pseudo-evolutionary concepts were applied to human interaction and were important in the development of cut-throat capitalism in the United States. Here the ideology was that the cream naturally rose to the top; the successful made a lot of money simply because they were superior to the unsuccessful. Those who found themselves in poverty were poor because they were intrinsically inferior. This political philosophy resisted suggestions like universal education, welfare, minimum wage -- in short, anything which interfered with the business of the "superior" ascending to the top and squashing the unfit beneath their expensive shoes

The seeds of Social Darwinism were actually planted before the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (though of course the name didn't originate until after). Darwin knew of -- and rejected -- the notion...